Police Footage from Hillsborough Disaster May Have Been Altered

Criminal charges may soon be on their wayA pre-inquest hearing into the events surrounding the Hillsborough Stadium disaster has uncovered even more incriminating evidence against the South Yorkshire Police today. Amid claims that there are 74 more police statements to add to the original 164 that were altered after the event, now it’s emerging that the handheld camera footage police captured during the tragedy may have been edited after the fact.

Becky Johnson, Sky’s North of England correspondent, was outside Liverpool Crown Court earlier today and reported that after an expert witness reviewed the video footage, they concluded that some of the pictures may have been altered. We already know that many of the original notes taken by the South Yorkshire Police were changed to remove criticism of them. If the video was also misrepresented, this could be another significant revelation in a case that has been more than 24 years in the making.

With 220 of the 238 officers accused of tampering with evidence still alive, criminal charges are expected to follow as the real depth of the cover-up continues to be revealed. “If this (claims of edited video) proves to be true it brings a whole new dimension in the police cover-up that we knew took place” said Becky Johnson. Jon Stoddart, former chief constable of the Durham force and one of the most experienced detectives in Britain is heading up the investigation; last month, he confirmed that all parties involved are currently being investigated for possible gross negligence manslaughter.

“We are looking at unlawful killing; who is responsible for the deaths. Those 96 people went to Hillsborough to watch a football match and didn’t return home” said the detective. How these new allegations will play into the investigation remains to be seen, but there’s little doubt that every shred of evidence will be reviewed under a powerful microscope.